This week, my brother and I are watching the 1991 animated movie, Wizardry, a Japanese rendition of the computer RPG series from a decade before. Sometimes the term OVA (original video animation) is used for these often standalone films that were produced for direct VHS/laserdisc/VCD/DVD release. Sometimes, I think there were earlier series that came prior, and the OVAs had higher budgets and could summarize an entire series in a 1-2 hour movie. This was a fun conversation about these early animes, which I'd gotten only a bit of exposure to as a kid, playing early role playing games, and more. Interestingly enough, the Wizardry franchise (originally created by Cornell University students Andrew C. Greenberg and Robert Woodhead) has lived on in Japan, where it is still popular. Oddly enough, the Ultima series, which is still popular in the US, never became quite as big, though there are some teasers that suggest it could have been in a parallel universe.
This is a fun, compact film that follows the plot of the first game, from what I understand (having not played the game myself). But if you have, when you watch the film (you can watch the whole movie for free on youtube here), you will see a number of odes to the original game (and the person who did the work annotating the video has footnotes explaining the references).
You can find the coffee table books Jeremy referenced in the episode about games history, including the computer role playing game book at Bitmap Books. A digital copy of The CRPG Book edited by Felipe Pepe is available here.
Lastly, if you happen to get this in time, until /16, you can take advantage of the Father's Day sale on my Bandcamp page:
25% off anything at joshuablum.bandcamp.com
Use the code whoisurdaddy&whatdoeshedo at checkout!
Check out Jeremy's work over at Pixel Grotto, CBR.com, and Classic Batman Panels on IG. If you are of the DnD persuasion, his articles on DnD Beyond may be right up your alley, and you can view his entire portfolio here. You can also check out his latest book, where he is a co-author: Pathfinder Adventure Path: No Breath to Cry as well as the ecology and exploration TTRPG with Three Sail Studios, Mappa Mundi, which is now out. Thanks, Jeremy, for coming on the show!
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Once Upon a Dream, the second Thirteenth Hour soundtrack, is now out in digital form!
It is out on most m
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